Professor Babbling Was Acting Strange

"... Don't answer, find a room where you can answer the questions..."

With their feet firmly on the ground, Loren and Hermione could still hear Professor Babbling's shouts echoing in their ears.

The two stood close together, drawing their wands and warily scanning their surroundings. It was pitch black, but neither of them dared to light their wands; they both held their breath, silently refraining from making a sound.

Loren blinked a few times, and two points of crystal blue light flashed and disappeared in the dim space.

Under the gaze of the Magic Sight, there was nothing but a stone sculpture emitting a dim light in front of him.

"On the bright side, at least the teleportation inside the Pyramid is much better than the Portkey." Loren relaxed, swirling his wand a few times and summoning several blue flames.

Flames floated in the air, swirling around the two, emitting a soft, warm, blue, satin-like glow. He hadn't used Lumos Lumos Charm, which would have dominated the tip of his wand; his wand was always ready to handle any unexpected situation.

Turning his head, he saw the little Witch standing there looking somewhat dejected. Loren smiled and said, "It seems Professor Babbling broke her promise. She couldn't protect us."

"It was my fault. Bill and Mr. Lockhart were in front, and Professor Babbling was behind. That was the safest position..." Hermione's expression was downcast, and her tone was full of self-blame. "If I hadn't moved around, the magic wouldn't have been triggered."

"Indeed!" Loren nodded. "As punishment, you'll have to wash my socks during the summer vacation."

"Who's going to wash your socks? Is this the time to be talking about that?"

Even though she was in the dark Pyramid Chamber of Secrets, Hermione couldn't help but laugh. Loren's nonsensical joke greatly relieved her anxiety.

"That's right, go outside and wash my socks." Loren said, walking around the four walls.

This is a square, enclosed stone chamber surrounded by walls made of giant stones. One of the walls has a rectangular gap that looks like a door, but it is blocked by a single giant stone.

"We'd better not touch that stone sculpture unless absolutely necessary, what do you think, Hermione?" Loren walked to the door and examined it carefully, touching and knocking on it, but found no mechanism to open it.

Hermione is trying to Apparition, but there's no response; just like Hogwarts Castle, Apparition is prohibited here.

Loren stepped back a few paces, looking at the blocked stone door, and pondered for a moment, "Do you think I can blast this door open with [Colloportus]?"

"Why do I get the feeling that you can't wait to blow up the door?" Hermione opened her eyes and put down her wand. "Let's take a look at the stone carving first. I have a feeling that blowing up the door will cause more trouble."

They gathered together in front of the stone sculpture in the center of the room.

The craftsman who made the stone carving was clearly unskilled; one lion statue was sculpted in a bizarre shape, its body resembling a huge lion with enormous paws and a long tail curled around its feet, the tip of which had a raised sphere that appeared to be a ball of fur. Most strangely, a woman's head was carved into the lion.

"This looks like... the Sphinx Bill mentioned?" Hermione stared at it for a long time before finally matching the stone sculpture in front of her with the picture in the book.

Loren tapped the stone carving lightly with his wand. The wood and stone struck together, producing a low, muffled sound. "The inside of the stone carving is hollow."

He reached out and touched the statue's claws; they were cold and rough, just like the feel of a real stone carving. But he didn't consider this a stone carving; the dim Magic Power glow emanating from the Sphinx Mummy indicated that it was a magical creation.

Suddenly, Loren saw the stone sculpture wink at him; the strange statue's eyes seemed to come alive, darting around in a circle. The dull, lifeless luster on the surface of the stone sculpture suddenly brightened.

Loren turned to face Hermione, and they exchanged glances, then took a few steps back in unison.

Click!

Tiny cracks spread along the surface of the stone carving, densely packed like a spider web. After the cracks covered the entire stone carving, the lion's tail slowly rose, making a stiff "creaking" sound. After rising about three inches, the tuft of the tail slammed down onto the stone platform below.

The stone shell covering the mummy immediately peeled off piece by piece, revealing its true form.

The sphinx had a woman's face and its body was wrapped in long white strips of cloth. It stared at the two with its large almond-shaped eyes and spoke in a low, hoarse voice:

"Whoever disturbs the Pharaoh's slumber, death will spread its wings and descend upon them."

"Anyone who enters this tomb with impure intentions, I will strangle him like a bird."

It raised its powerful hind legs, assuming a pouncing posture. "To get out of here, you must answer my riddle. Answer it correctly once—and I'll give you treasure. If you don't answer—I'll pounce on you. If you don't answer—you'll be imprisoned here forever."

Loren blinked. "That's not quite what Professor Babbling said."

Hermione's heart pounded. Out of guilt for putting Loren in danger, she desperately wanted to solve the puzzle and get Loren out of the Chamber of Secrets of Secrets.

She pursed her lips to calm herself down. "Can we hear a riddle first?"

The Sphinx stretched out its claws and scratched at the stone floor, making a "rustling" sound as it rubbed the stone, while chanting:

"First, think about what kind of people always wear a mask."

Their actions were secretive, and they told a lot of lies.

Tell me again what kind of person always waves a cane.

Fooling the servants, and being fooled by the servants in return?

Find what they all have in them, and answer me.

What made them this way?

Loren's eyes darted around, and he quickly figured out the answer.

"Mask... Wand..." Hermione's mind raced, and the first thing that came to mind was the golden mask and golden scepter she had bought that morning.

"Sneaky actions, a string of lies!" An unbelievable answer flashed through Hermione's mind, and she exclaimed in surprise, "You mean the High Priest!"

The Sphinx winked at Hermione and smiled slightly.

Hermione took its action as a confirmation; one clue was the High Priest, then the other...

"Fooling his servants and being fooled by them, that's the Pharaoh!" Hermione found the riddle utterly absurd; this Sphinx was criticizing the kings of Ancient Egypt.

The Sphinx's smile became even more friendly.

"What they all have, what makes them like this..." Hermione was stumped for a moment. What made the High Priest act mysteriously and lie so often? What made the Pharaoh fool his servants and be fooled by them in turn?

"It's power," Loren said softly, the above reminding him of Dumbledore.

The Sphinx of a lion and the head of a human stood up and walked forward. Its massive body seemed unusually light, and its footsteps made no sound as expected. The woman's face approached Hermione's, and she rubbed her forehead against hers. "That's right, it's power."

Hermione smelled a multitude of herbs and spices, the kind that had been inserted into the Sphinx during its mummification process. The little Witch froze, unsure how to react.

"Remember this riddle..." Its words seemed to get stuck in its throat, and after a moment of hesitation, it couldn't say them, as if some mysterious contract was restricting it.

The Sphinx wore a helpless expression as it looked at the two. "Congratulations on answering the riddle correctly. The treasure I promised you is stored in the First Burial Chamber, and you can retrieve it yourself. Now, you may leave."

As the words fell, the huge rock blocking the entrance to the stone chamber rose up with a roar and slowly opened.

Loren hesitated for a moment, not leaving immediately, but looking at the Sphinx Mummy: "I have some questions, can you help me answer them?"

Hermione also looked at the Sphinx. Today's events were too strange: the inexplicable teleportation, the incomprehensible riddles, and the information about the High Priest and the Pharaoh revealed in the riddles... as well as the treasures in the First Burial Chamber. Professor Babbling had mentioned that the Pyramid had only explored up to the Second Burial Chamber so far.

Sphinx shook his head, turned around and sat back in his original seat. "All questions will have answers, but not now."

After saying that, the vibrant Magic Power radiance on its body once again fell into a dormant state and became silent.

"So what answer can you give us now?" Loren pressed. "Hey, say something, at least tell us how to get out of here."

The mummy's expression was solemn and serene; if it weren't for its tail swaying back and forth behind it, Loren would have truly thought it had fallen into hibernation.

"..."

Loren pulled out his wand and turned to Hermione: "What do you think about me casting an Opening Charm on this thing?"

Hermione didn't answer, but a rumbling sound came from the boulder behind the door. The two turned around and saw that the boulder was slowly and steadily descending.

The silent Sphinx gave its answer: if it didn't leave, it would stay here and keep it company.

"Let's go!" Hermione hurriedly pulled Loren out of the stone chamber. Although the little Witch also had many questions, she just wanted to leave as soon as possible.

Loren was reluctantly dragged along. The moment they stepped out of the stone chamber, the boulder accelerated its descent, sealing the door completely in the blink of an eye.

Outside the stone chamber, it was pitch black. The two still held hands, their arms pressed tightly together, feeling each other's body heat. In this environment, because they could feel each other's presence, their panicked hearts gradually calmed down.

Loren felt that he wasn't standing on a level surface; his right foot seemed to be higher than his left, and his center of gravity was slightly to the right. He had to lean slightly to maintain his balance.

"[Lumos] "

As Hermione whispered the incantation, a soft white light shone from the tip of her wand. She held Lumos up and shone it around, looking at the chiseled stones all around her. "It seems we're back in the Sloping Corridor. Which way do we go now?"

Going down means going deeper, going up means the entrance.

Loren looked toward the stone gate he had just come out of, which was now blocked by fallen boulders and blended into the surrounding stone walls. He wondered how many stone chambers like the one he had just seen were hidden on both sides of the seemingly endless passageway.

"Let's go upstairs and wait for Professor Babbling at the entrance," Loren said.

"Hmm!" Hermione thought so too. Although she was very interested in Ancient Magic ruins, this unexplored Pyramid was clearly beyond their capabilities.

The two began to climb up the Sloping Corridor, at a slow pace, wary of any teleportation magic that might appear at any moment.

Hermione walked along, holding up Lumos: "Let's withdraw from this project once we see Professor Babbling. We can save exploring ruins for after we graduate—"

At that moment, Loren, who was walking next to her, suddenly asked, "Did you hear anything?"

Hermione stopped and listened intently. A rustling sound came from behind them, adding a touch of eeriness to the dark, deserted passageway.

"Something is moving upwards," she whispered. "It can't be Professor Babbling and the others. Whether they're exploring the Pyramid or looking for us, they shouldn't be going up."

Loren nodded, gripping his wand tightly. "Try to avoid fighting in the passageways to prevent triggering other spells. Let's continue upwards and leave the Pyramid as soon as possible."

The two quickened their pace and climbed upwards, but the voices behind them followed like shadows, continuously adding to their sense of urgency in the dark and deep passageways of the ancient Pyramid.

Although the Sloping Corridor of the Pyramid are long, they eventually come to an end. As they run, the slope of the ground gradually flattens out, and as the slope disappears completely, a narrow exit appears ahead, from which a faint light shines.

Loren and Hermione were secretly delighted and leaped out of the exit, only to be dumbfounded by what they saw.

The outside was not the exit, but a vast, dark chamber. In the center of the chamber was a stone coffin, and in the corners were countless pottery jars. The walls were inlaid with glowing gems, which they had mistaken for sunlight in the passageway.

"This is the tomb!" Loren said.

Just as he was speaking, the voices that had been following them closely approached. A short, short-limbed goblin entered the tomb first, followed by Bill, who was dressed in a trendy outfit, and Professor Babbling, who was wearing a close-fitting robe.

"Hermione! Loren! It makes me so happy to see you!"

Professor Babbling stepped forward and carefully examined the two women's bodies. When she noticed Hermione's forehead where the Sphinx had touched her, a hint of doubt flashed in her eyes, but she quickly concealed it. "It's good that you're both alright. If you had been hurt, Dumbledore would really have had to fire me. Thank you, Merlin!"

Loren noticed the fleeting look of doubt in her eyes and used his Magic Sight to examine Hermione's forehead, but found no curse or evil spell.

"So it really is you..." Hermione was still a little confused. "But Professor, weren't we going up? Why are we going into the tomb again?"

Bill continued, explaining, "The passageways inside the Pyramid are shaped like a 'Y,' with a downward-sloping passage connecting to an upward-sloping passage leading to this Second Burial Chamber."

"So we're not heading towards the exit, but deeper into the Pyramid."

While Professor Babbling examined him, Loren stared silently into Babbling's eyes. He noticed that after the professor finished her examination, a different kind of doubt appeared in her eyes, as if it was normal for something to be wrong with him.

Thinking about it carefully, their process of recognizing Professor Babbling was full of oddities. What kind of professor would pay special attention to two soon-to-be third-year students? What kind of professor would invite them to be his assistants to explore unexplored Ancient Magic ruins?